Fink fell into his chair, mouth open, gaping in disbelief.
Harry scowled over his reading glasses and looked straight down at Thomas Fink. “Listen to me, Mr. Fink. This is not some fancy courtroom in New Orleans, and I am not one of your federal judges. This is my little private courtroom, and I make the rules, Mr. Fink. Rule number one is that you speak in my courtroom only when you are first spoken to by me. Rule number two is that you do not grace his honor with unsolicited speeches, comments, or remarks. Rule number three is that his honor does not like to hear the voices of lawyers. His honor has been hearing these voices for twenty years, and his honor knows how lawyers love to hear themselves talk. Rule number four is that you do not stand in my courtroom. You sit at that table and say as little as possible. Do you understand these rules, Mr. Fink?”
Fink stared blankly at Harry and tried to nod.
Harry wasn’t finished. “This is a tiny courtroom, Mr. Fink, designed by myself a long time ago for private hearings. We can all see and hear each other just fine, so just keep your mouth shut and your butt in your seat, and we’ll get along fine.”
Fink was still trying to nod. He gripped the arms of the chair, determined never to rise again. Behind him, McThune, the lawyer hater, barely suppressed a smile.
“Mr. McLemore, I understand Mr. Fink wants to handle this case for the prosecution. Is this agreeable?”
“Okay with me, Your Honor.”
“I’ll allow it. But try and keep him in his seat.”
Mark was terrified. He had hoped for a kind, gentle old man with lots of love and sympathy. Not this. He glanced at Mr. Fink, whose neck was crimson and whose breathing was loud and heavy, and he almost felt sorry for him.
“Ms. Love,” the judge said, suddenly very warm and compassionate, “I understand you may have an objection on behalf of the child.”
“Yes, Your Honor.” She leaned forward and spoke deliberately in the direction of the court reporter. “We have several objections we’d like to make at this time, and I want them in the record.”
“Certainly,” Harry said, as if Reggie Love could have anything she wanted. Fink sank lower and felt even dumber. So much for impressing the court with an initial burst of eloquence.
Reggie glanced at her notes. “Your Honor, I request the transcript of these proceedings be typed and prepared as soon as possible to facilitate an emergency appeal if necessary.”
“So ordered.”
“I object to this hearing on several grounds. First, inadequate notice has been given to the child, his mother, and to his lawyer. About three hours have passed since the petition was served upon the child’s mother, and though I have represented the child for three days now, and everyone involved has known this, I was not notified of this hearing until seventy-five minutes ago. This is unfair, absurd, and an abuse of discretion by the court.”
“When would you like to have the hearing, Ms. Love?” Harry asked.
“Today’s Thursday,” she said. “What about Tuesday or Wednesday of next week?”
“That’s fine. Say Tuesday at nine.” Harry looked at Fink, who still hadn’t moved and was afraid to respond to this. “Of course, Ms. Love, the child will remain in custody until then.”
“The child does not belong in custody, Your Honor.”
“But I’ve signed a custody order, and I will not rescind it while we wait for a hearing. Our laws, Ms. Love, provide for the immediate taking of alleged delinquents, and your client is being treated no differently from others. Plus, there are other considerations for Mark Sway, and I’m sure these will be discussed shortly.”
“Then I cannot agree on a continuance if my client will remain in custody.”
“Very well,” his honor said properly. “Let the record reflect a continuance was offered by the court and declined by the child.”
“And let the record also reflect the child declined a continuance because the child does not wish to remain in the Juvenile Detention Center any longer than he has to.”
“So noted,” Harry said with a slight grin. “Please proceed, Ms. Love.”
“We also object to this hearing because the child’s mother is not present. Due to extreme circumstances, her presence is not possible at this time, and keep in mind, Your Honor, the poor woman was first notified barely three hours ago. The child here is eleven years old and deserves the assistance of his mother. As you know, Your Honor, our laws strongly favor the presence of the parents in these hearings, and to proceed without Mark’s mother is unfair.”
“When can Ms. Sway be available?”
“No one knows, Your Honor. She is literally confined to the hospital room with her son who’s suffering from post-traumatic stress. Her doctor allows her out of the room only for minutes at a time. It could be weeks before she’s available.”
“So you want to postpone this hearing indefinitely?”
“Yes sir.”
“All right. You’ve got it. Of course, the child will remain in custody pending the hearing.”
“The child does not belong in custody. The child will make himself available anytime the court wants. There’s nothing to be gained by keeping the child locked up until a hearing.”
“There are complicating factors in this case, Ms. Love, and I’m not inclined to release this child before we have this hearing and it’s determined how much he knows. It’s that simple. I’m afraid to release him at this time. If I did so, and if something happened to him, I’d carry the guilt to my grave. Do you understand this, Ms. Love?”
She understood, though she wouldn’t admit it. “I’m afraid you’re making this decision based on facts not in evidence.”
“Maybe so. But I have wide discretion in these matters, and until I hear the proof I’m not inclined to release him.”
“That’ll look good on appeal,” she snapped, and Harry didn’t like it.
“Let the record reflect a continuance was offered to the child until his mother could be present, and the continuance was declined by the child.”
To which Reggie quickly responded, “And also let the record reflect the child declined the continuance because the child does not wish to remain in the Juvenile Detention Center any longer than he has to.”
“So noted, Ms. Love. Please continue.”
“The child moves this court to dismiss the petition filed against him on the grounds that the allegations are without merit and the petition has been filed in an effort to explore things the child might know. The petitioners, Fink and Foltrigg, are using this hearing as a fishing expedition for their desperate criminal investigation. Their petition is a hopeless mishmash of maybes and what-ifs, and filed under oath without the slightest hint of the real truth. They’re desperate, Your Honor, and they’re here shooting in the dark hoping they hit something. The petition should be dismissed, and we should all go home.”
Harry glared down at Fink, and said, “I’m inclined to agree with her, Mr. Fink. What about it?”
Fink had settled into his chair and watched with comfort as Reggie’s first two objections had been shot down by his honor. His breathing had almost returned to normal and his face had gone from crimson to pink, when suddenly the judge was agreeing with her and staring at him.
Fink bolted to the edge of his chair, almost stood but caught himself, and started stuttering. “Well, uh, Your Honor, we, uh, can prove our allegations if given the chance. We, uh, believe what we’ve said in the petition—”
“I certainly hope so,” Harry sneered.
“Yes sir, and we know that this child is impeding an investigation. Yes sir, we are confident we can prove what we’ve alleged.”